Battery Tester Showdown Which Is Best? Honest Review

[@SunriseSuperThruster]

A volt test is not a battery test. You need to check the resistance for that.

[@pir869]

Something to remember,a single cell or multiple of cells(battery) can measure a decent voltage ,but the current capacity can be low,duracell tested the best as they have a low internal resistance and give up most of the current capacity before they die,or at least don't give the needed rated power any more. One good test is to connect a variable resistor of a few watts and around 100k in value across the power source cell or battery ,lower the resistor value(turn the pot) when the voltage starts to drop you measure the resistance and voltage and can find the current flowing,if the the voltage drops quick the battery has little current capacity,if the voltage stays high for a reasonable amount of rotation it is most likely good. I want to buy a tester,but just going by voltage is not the whole story,as i described above a load test which is truer to form,all batteries dry cell,wet cell,especially lead acid being well known can have 12v measure but little current capacity due to cell damage,so measured voltage can be deceiving. I'll most likely buy a cheap chinese tester as most folks will.Still a good video source of info

[@MakeItorBreakItNow]

Thanks for sharing the good thoughts in your comment above, always appreciated.

[@saunga1]

Can you give an example of "a variable resistor of a few watts"? I tried googling the phrase but didn't get anything pertinent (to be fair, I'm can't say I even know what I'm looking for in a "resistor" so I'm not sure if the results were accurate or not).

[@mikeinpcola5543]

Cool testing, thank you. So do you know if the analog testers are simply testing DC voltage or if they are also applying a load? And is the digital multimeter truly applying a load organ is it just testing DC voltage? Thank you.

[@MakeItorBreakItNow]

Mike, the analog tester are just completing the circuit. The multimeter has a battery and to your point, I believe its applying a load...

[@mikeinpcola5543]

@@MakeItorBreakItNow Thanks for reply...reason asking is you know how just using multimeter on car batt...might say 12V but that means nothing for there was no load, but with load tester, car batt may say 11V at which point you have a problem. I think the same on all these analog or even digital testers for disposable batts, they may give false security if they don't load test.

[@MakeItorBreakItNow]

@@mikeinpcola5543 agreed, but for the most part they're in the ballpark...

[@jetjazz05]

I've tested batteries to find one is still alright and one is dead, so I like to check batteries even if I think they're bad. Also some devices will use a battery until it's really depleted and other items need it to be 1.6 volts to operate... I think the most important part of a tester is to have a load put on it. You can get a good reading with just a multimeter since there's no draw on the battery. I have a nice Fluke 179 multimeter, works so well... but it doesn't put a load on the battery so I had to resort to buying an battery tester that'd draw amperage.

[@MakeItorBreakItNow]

Jesse, agree, multimeters are best, but not everyone knows how to use them, hence providing an alternative...

[@superiorradio4540]

@@MakeItorBreakItNow Do those cheaper ones put a load on the battery?

[@MakeItorBreakItNow]

@@superiorradio4540 not really, they need to complete the ciruit so the the tester can complete the circuit but its minimal.

[@bigcountry8726]

Our bathroom scale goes “LO” pretty quickly. I kept throwing away batteries and putting in new. I remembered I had the cheap tester shown. The scale runs one battery completely dead and the other three are strong. I now can keep using the batteries by moving them down one spot and the new battery on the end since it barely gets any draw.

[@MakeItorBreakItNow]

Thanks again for your comment.

[@annettegongora156]

My husband bought me TWO multi-meters (one digital and one analog) but could never get them to work properly to test batteries. Just bought myself the cheaper meter and it works awesomely! Gave my husband back the multi-meters - the other cheaper meter will be my way to go from now on!

[@annettegongora156]

Thank you for posting this video it was very informative!

[@MakeItorBreakItNow]

You're welcome, still using these cheaper meters all the time. Also give them as gifts.

[@blakemcbride26]

Measuring voltage tells you little. The amount of power a batter has left is equal to voltage time current. You're only measuring voltage. Without knowing the current (without a load) the voltage measurement means next to nothing.

[@MakeItorBreakItNow]

Thanks for you comment, I see your point, yet my experience is the battery life is ultimately close to what is indicated in the guage.

[@semiRockethr]

Don't know about the multimeter, but small analog battery testers put a resistor across the battery, around 5 ohms for 1,5V. That equals to around 300mA

[@boofuls]

great video .also you can get the little tester with a LCD display

[@MakeItorBreakItNow]

boofuls, thanks. you're right about the LCD display, just cost a little more.

[@sylviacandler5541]

I have Noticed that when the remote control for TV goes bad, there is usually one battery in the bunch that goes bad, while the rest of the batteries are in GREAT shape!!!!

[@MakeItorBreakItNow]

That can happen, you might want to check your connections for corrosion, here's a video I made that ideally helps with this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gHXCnYiio8t8lbs

[@migo308]

Where do I get the two for 5 dollars battery chargers

[@MakeItorBreakItNow]

Marcey, these are testers, not chargers

[@bigcountry8726]

The “in the yellow” are great for remotes

[@MakeItorBreakItNow]

Good to know, thanks for sharing.

[@wstibbs1]

Hey! Can you help me find fuses for an old pioneer amplifier? Hunted everywhere. 15A-125 v. (2) 1 A-125V AC lines. Thanks!

[@MakeItorBreakItNow]

Maybe here: amzn.to/4ctqsuK , ebay is also a great place to find almost anything.

[@georgebonney90]

I've noticed on a multimeter with a battery tester,ill get different reading then if i just test the batter with th DC function. Do you know if the battery tester function puts a load on the battery while testing??

[@MakeItorBreakItNow]

Not sure, for some likely but haven't tested enough multimeters to see if there is a trend. Maybe some day.

[@saunga1]

Technically speaking, it does put a load on the battery; *from what I understand* since electricity _is actively_ flowing from the positive to negative, the battery is technically being "used". But the load is most likely very minimal compared to that of whatever device the battery is powering.

[@adam.a]

Is there any way to test mAh on a battery.

[@runhikemike]

The only way to test mAh on a battery is to hook it up to a power meter with a load and run the battery down while measuring the mA drawn over time. You can do this with rechargable batteries to find out their capacity but not with non-rechargeable cells since you would end up with a dead battery.

[@MakeItorBreakItNow]

mm1436. Thanks for you comment, couldn't have said it better myself...

[@TravelMaximizer]

Good video. Thank you.

[@MakeItorBreakItNow]

2JumboJacks, you're welcome, appreciate the postive review.

[@technicaltreats2704]

Can li-ion cell be tested?

[@MakeItorBreakItNow]

Yes, I do it all the time. Fairly accurate...

[@wsw70]

Your multimeter test is not useful. You need to test the batteries under load and compare the results with the datasheet. A direct measurement with the multimeter will show you really poor or dead batteries only.

[@MakeItorBreakItNow]

Well, maybe. I've used this approach for a while and works reasonably well. But your more in depth approach is really the way to go, but might be too much for many folks...

[@Jon-hx7pe]

battery test function on a meter actually does test them under load@@MakeItorBreakItNow

[@louisborselio8608]

9v can be tested on the tongue.

[@MakeItorBreakItNow]

sure can, did that as a kid...

[@saunga1]

@@MakeItorBreakItNow Same, not sure if "test" was the appropriate word though 🤪.

[@TomeRodrigo]

I think you need 100 ohm resistor to test batteries correctly. (I mean only some batteries with 100ohm, other batteries require different resistors)

[@MakeItorBreakItNow]

Interesting, these cheaper testers seem to work well in most cases for most people...

[@deniecedonnafield4749]

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

[@MakeItorBreakItNow]

deniece, thanks!

[@ZodiacSam]

geeze dude we dont need to see all your batteries just tell us the results

[@MakeItorBreakItNow]

Woof, thanks for the feedback will think of ways to get to the point in the future.

[@Teja]

@@MakeItorBreakItNow no that’s a nonsense comment. I loved seeing all the batteries because it showed me in REAL life How the process looks like. and i have coin cell batteries too & on Amazon there was mixed signals like they were saying it won’t tell you battery of cr2032 but to my surprise you showed it works!! So don’t change your content for some random. Most people won’t comment if they like the video, but will let you know if they don’t. So always look at the like ratio and views. Don’t change your content for some rando. Cheers

[@harleygirlhrw151]

​@@MakeItorBreakItNowAfter reading your reply to someone's personal opinion they had on your video. It was very inspiring and incorrigible to me. I dont take criticism easily and in my life the outcomes become regrettable. Oh, I also liked the part that you said, "woof" first...that was cute and funny! As far as your video, I've learned about reading battery volts seen with your red meter. I believe your showing what volts the battery label is listed new. Then you grab a possibly used battery and read its volts. Then you have to use your own judgment on what you think the battery is capable of doing for the rest of its life( I say this in layman's terms). I now buy rechargeable flashlights and headlamps cuz that was getting way to expensive(one of my flashlight takes 12 AA batteries and it only lasted to my satisfaction for a couple of days on high lumens 😳) With those older batteries they work great for remotes and small items not needing so much. My favorite battery is the CR123. I use one in each of my thermal viewers. Those cost around $7-8 each. I can sometimes go through 1 battery as quickly as a couple of hours. So, with the stock pile of batteries I have here at home. I can't wait to go sit back and go through all of mine in the good mood I'm in...lol 🤣😊😃 Take Care and Thank you!

[@bigcountry8726]

Our bathroom scale goes “LO” pretty quickly. I kept throwing away batteries and putting in new. I remembered I had the cheap tester shown. The scale runs one battery completely dead and the other three are strong. I now can keep using the batteries by moving them down one spot and the new battery on the end since it barely gets any draw.

[@MakeItorBreakItNow]

Interesting experience, I'll have to check my batteries and see if that is happening to me. Thanks for sharing.